• Question: What has been the most difficult part of your job so far?

    Asked by sam17 on 10 Jan 2020. This question was also asked by lillie, zaracox, scott17, madeleine, mekeelg.
    • Photo: Fiona Macfarlane

      Fiona Macfarlane answered on 10 Jan 2020:

      I think the hardest part of my job is when things don’t quite work the way you expected. For example if my code gives me unusual results, as you have to spend time working out whether the code is wrong or the result is just unexpected. It can also be hard when things seem to not work at all, it take a lot to keep trying.

    • Photo: Maja Popovic

      Maja Popovic answered on 10 Jan 2020:

      I think the hardest part of working at a university as a researcher is that you have to renew your contract every, say, 2 years (it can vary). So, sometimes when one contract finishes there is another one, but sometimes there isn’t, so you have to find another university to work there…
      This can be very tiring, but then again, the work itself is very nice and interesting.

      Of course, it is possible to become a professor and stay at the university, but there are far more interested people than professor positions, so it might be tough, yes.

    • Photo: Andrew Harrison

      Andrew Harrison answered on 11 Jan 2020:

      I think the hardest part of my job is people.
      In business, it doesn’t matter how great the maths you do is, it has no value, delivers no benefit, until it is implemented and deployed. That requires convincing people that your idea is a great as you know it is and negotiating with them to make it happen.

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